Why does Harry Kim never get promoted?
- Thread starter B. L.
- Start date
I really think that they were expecting that Harry really would move up the ranks at that point in the show. Just like they were expecting that the EMH would be named after his creator.
However, I think that by at least the start of S5, they had made the decision to wholeheartedly commit to Harry being an ensign for the full run. And by late season 6, they had grown tired of the complaints from fans and decided to repeatedly rub their noses in the fact that Harry's rank wasn't going to change. Because it was brought in "Unimatrix Zero", "Nightingale" and even "Author, Author", but the issue wasn't addressed.
However, I think that by at least the start of S5, they had made the decision to wholeheartedly commit to Harry being an ensign for the full run. And by late season 6, they had grown tired of the complaints from fans and decided to repeatedly rub their noses in the fact that Harry's rank wasn't going to change. Because it was brought in "Unimatrix Zero", "Nightingale" and even "Author, Author", but the issue wasn't addressed.
Sadly, I can only think of three reasons for the issue...
1. The people running the show were incredibly incompetent, and they truly believed that it was appropriate for an officer to stay at ensign for seven years, even though every other recurring ensign on Trek before then (Chekov, Wes*, Ogawa, Ro, Nog, and Ezri) got promoted at some point.
2. The showrunners were incredibly sloppy, and decided to just randomly change premises or ignore inconsistencies, even ones that could be addressed with seconds of dialogue. Of course, this is already pretty much self evident (it would have been a simple matter to technobabble out a reason why Voyager suddenly had more than 38 torpedoes, for example).
3. The showrunners were carrying out a childish vendetta against Garrett Wang, by trying to make his character look as ridiculous as possible. And sadly, it worked: there are legions of fans who to this day seem to take a perverse delight in the idea that Harry was an ensign for his entire career.
Honestly, I don't see the documentary makers admitting to any of these things. They'll probably just parrot out Berman's stupid line: "someone's gotta be duh ensign" and be done with it.
*Wes was field promoted from acting ensign to full ensign in "Menage a Troi". It remains one of my favorite Trek moments to this day to see him coming out on the bridge rocking that red Starfleet uniform.
1. The people running the show were incredibly incompetent, and they truly believed that it was appropriate for an officer to stay at ensign for seven years, even though every other recurring ensign on Trek before then (Chekov, Wes*, Ogawa, Ro, Nog, and Ezri) got promoted at some point.
2. The showrunners were incredibly sloppy, and decided to just randomly change premises or ignore inconsistencies, even ones that could be addressed with seconds of dialogue. Of course, this is already pretty much self evident (it would have been a simple matter to technobabble out a reason why Voyager suddenly had more than 38 torpedoes, for example).
3. The showrunners were carrying out a childish vendetta against Garrett Wang, by trying to make his character look as ridiculous as possible. And sadly, it worked: there are legions of fans who to this day seem to take a perverse delight in the idea that Harry was an ensign for his entire career.
Honestly, I don't see the documentary makers admitting to any of these things. They'll probably just parrot out Berman's stupid line: "someone's gotta be duh ensign" and be done with it.
*Wes was field promoted from acting ensign to full ensign in "Menage a Troi". It remains one of my favorite Trek moments to this day to see him coming out on the bridge rocking that red Starfleet uniform.
Harry is an ensign alright, but a reasonably competent one. If they really had wanted to make his character look ridiculous they could have done a lot worse (e.g. make him an insufferable hypochondriac, like 'ensign Kymble', always have him ask the dumb questions because he doesn't quite get it, yet, etc.)
That would have made him a flawed, interesting, and memorable character. Look at Rom on Deep Space 9, or Barclay on TNG.
But if you don't subscribe to the theory that the showrunners were acting on a grudge, that's fine. I presented as a potential explanation, nothing more.
I don't think showing someone' s flaws makes a person more interesting and memorable by definition. It very much depends on how these flaws are shown. For example, I think Barclay is relatable to many, not because of his flaws, but because he is shown struggling with them. Had they only shown his flaws, but never the 'inside' look, he probably simply would have been an annoying character and nothing more.
Well, I would normally just log it off to sloppiness then, since it's been established that the showrunners were certainly guilty of that. Whether it's those clown car shuttles, infinite torpedoes, the one-person autodestruct sequence, or a species that will halve its population every generation, Voyager presents a very generous selection of "what were they thinking" moments.
My chief reason for thinking otherwise is the scenes in several late episodes where Harry's low rank is made an issue, but not resolved. It seems like this was done as a deliberate slap across the face to the numerous fans who wrote in telling the writers to promote him already. Given the mean-spirited nature of this behavior, are we really supposed to believe that the initial action was anything different?
My chief reason for thinking otherwise is the scenes in several late episodes where Harry's low rank is made an issue, but not resolved. It seems like this was done as a deliberate slap across the face to the numerous fans who wrote in telling the writers to promote him already. Given the mean-spirited nature of this behavior, are we really supposed to believe that the initial action was anything different?
Perhaps it's all three. It began perhaps as sloppiness, just like those vaunted 38 irreplaceable torpedoes, Wang started complaining about his character receiving not much development (not entirely unjustified but relations between Wang and production don't seem to have been optimal in the first place), which made them decide to not do that. When the fans started complaining they dug their heels in the sand and showed they were deliberately ignoring it.
For the first four seasons, they were actually pretty good about respecting the torpedo limit. However, they were running low by then, and presumably decided to say "screw it, let's just drop the limit". Which is fine, if done right. In "Roads Not Taken", I reveal that Voyager established relations with the Zahl, a friendly and technologically advanced species that was killed off in "Year of Hell", and presumably brought back when the time ship deleted itself. They are happy to trade Voyager a couple pallets of photonic cores, the only part of a photon torpedo that can't be replicated. This action explains, in a rational and believable manner, why Voyager no longer had to observe the 38-torpedo limit.
The issue of Harry's collar could have been settled even easier: just have him be a lieutenant at the start of Year 5. They still get to play out their nasty little vendetta, since he gets no ceremony, no recognition, no Janeway pins a pip on his collar and says "congratulations, Lieutenant Kim". But it's done in a way that's realistic and makes sense.
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Harry isn't promoted because of his musical taste! 
I'm sorry Mr Kim but I can't give you a promotion because your musical taste is AWFUL!
And then, at Deep Space Nine when Harry goes to Quark's to drown his sorrows in alcohol
Sorry Harry!
Here's the reason why I was promoted last week and you weren't!
I'm sorry Mr Kim but I can't give you a promotion because your musical taste is AWFUL!
And then, at Deep Space Nine when Harry goes to Quark's to drown his sorrows in alcohol
Sorry Harry!
Here's the reason why I was promoted last week and you weren't!
You would think that Harry, finally promoted to captain of a starship in the series finale, would have fought harder than anyone to prevent Admiral Janeway from going back and tinkering with the timeline! 
Harry's drunk so much Janeway koolaid, it's not funny. Look at "Non Sequitur"... he wakes up at home in San Francisco with a gorgeous fiancee, a promising job, an imminent promotion, and a barista who knows how he likes his coffee, having escaped a lone starship in constant danger, complete with replicator rations and cold sonic showers and a captain determined to keep him at ensign until the heat death of the universe...
And he spends the whole @#*$!-ing episode trying to go back.
And he spends the whole @#*$!-ing episode trying to go back.
A funny coincident is that I actually watched the episode yesterday!
Harry's actions can be considered as strange, considering the choices you mention.
But maybe he saw a life on Voyager as a better choice than having to be bored to death with a desk job on Earth together with that arrogant Lt. Lasca and an Admiral who didn't seem so nice either.
Not to mention that he saved Tom Paris from a not to promising future and his mate Danny Byrd from having to serve on Voyager as the "whipping boy" among the crew!
Maybe he subconsciously torpedoes his promotion chances by striving to excel at mediocrity
Lynx said:Not to mention that he saved Tom Paris from a not to promising future and his mate Danny Byrd from having to serve on Voyager as the "whipping boy" among the crew!
Makes you wonder if the Ensign Danny Byrd of the pocket universe was ever given a promotion
Maybe he subconsciously torpedoes his promotion chances by striving to excel at mediocrity
As I've often said, if Harry had been a mediocre officer, that would have made him a unique and interesting character. However, if you watch "Twisted" Janeway makes it clear that he's been one of the bright spots in the mission, and that he's exceeded her expectations. Chakotay repeats this in "Shattered".
No, Harry earned his little box on his chair, and it remains a travesty that he didn't get it.
I can understand Harry wanting it, but why would the actor playing him have cared? After all, it's not as if a promotion to Lt. would have guaranteed any better stories with the character in a more 'mature' role. Not on Voyager that is. The first officer on the show was pretty much invisible, unless they decided to unmothbal him for a 'character' episode.
I could buy his 'survivor's guilt' of Byrd having gone in his place now, and Lt. Paris not getting that 2nd chance as enough motive. There are people with an almost painfully tight conscience like that, that would also do so without 'having drunk Janeway's koolaid'
garret wang wasn’t just an actor, he was also a fan. He cared about the show and wanted the best for it.
